Well, February has been a rollercoaster…
After singing a recital for the Opera Associates on February 6, I started a whole week of rehearsals for the Met Western Region Showcase. Musical rehearsal on the 7th, staging rehearsals on the 8th & 9th, an outreached performance (shortened program) in morning and performance in the evening on the 10th. In addition to that, I had to be driven back on the 8th (Tue) for a Lakme evening rehearsal from Palm Springs to L.A., and then from L.A. to Palm Springs. That week was stressful, but it all paid off. The people at Palm Springs enjoyed the program. I sang with my fellow UCLA colleague David Williams (baritone), Sarah Jane McMahon (soprano), Amber Wagner (soprano) and Michael Cavalieri (baritone). I sang The Aria of the Worm, Frantz’ aria from Hoffman and Maria from West Side Story. For duets, I did O Happy We from Candide (with Sarah Jane) and Come along to the ball from Die Fledermaus (with David). For big ensemble pieces, we did Ya Got Me from On the Town, Make Our Garden Grow from Candide and the Tonight Quintet from West Side Story. After the outreach morning performance, before the evening performance, Sarah Jane, Amber and I had our nails done, then shopped at some stores on Palm Canyon before we went back to our hotel. David and I drove back to L.A. that same evening.
Rehearsals for Lakme resumed Saturday. It wasn’t that hectic (yet!). I did go out with Rose (Beattie, mezzo). We met with David (Drew) at the Abbey, and also with Kate and her friend. We all had a good time drinking and dancing (well, unless you consider “Shirley Temple” a drink!)
Now we have a week before the Lakme performance. Steven gave me a really big box of Red Vines Licorice, and he hung out during a Lakme performance. This is the third year that we spent Valentine’s day together in a rehearsal. The rehearsal went fairly well. John is still not convinced with the “Kama” number. I may just have to fully “vamp” the whole number… ala Tim Curry in Rocky Horror, or maybe Chris Tucker in Fifth Element. I guess you just have to watch Lakme to find out what it is that I do for my solo.
Check back in two weeks for another update!